A GROUP of MPs today called for urgent action to solve the housing crisis as it is revealed that nowhere near enough new homes are being built across the south.

The Local Government Committee said there was a “significant” housing shortfall, which had been made worse by the recession.

According to official estimates, the number of households in Southampton will rise by an average of 1,100 every year between now and 2033. Yet last year, just 544 new affordable homes were completed.

In Winchester, where the number of households is expected to increase by 520 every year, just 192 affordable homes were finished.

Overall, an extra 6,700 households are expected to be created across Hampshire County Council and Southampton City Council areas every year, far higher than the number of homes being built.

The report will increase the focus on the battle for suitable sites, which has been fought keenly in parts of Hampshire where the green belt has been under threat from development.

Plans for 2,000 homes at Barton Farm in Winchester, 1,300 at Stoneham Park in Eastleigh and 7,000 north of Fareham have proved among the most controversial.

Ministers have changed the planning rules to create a controversial “presumption in favour of sustainable development” to make it easier to secure permission for development.

But the MPs say extra investment is needed.

Today’s report calls for councils to have more freedom over the scale of housebuilding in each area.